The British Rallycross Championship made its first visit of the year to Mallory Park on 14 April. The circuit itself has seen some improvements since last year the loose sections are smoother and less boulder like!
The great British weather did its best to throw everything at us during the day everything from strong winds, and therefore loads of dust to down pours for the finals with an all to brief glimpse of the sun!
The Supercar final had everything that fans come to expect. Julian Godfrey started on pole and got away to a strong start, however Mad Mark Watson starting from third on the grid got off to a flier. Disaster struck Godfrey after the sweeping and fast first corner just heading on to the first section of loose when he clipped the rear of Watson breaking his bonnet catches resulting which signaled the end of his final seeing him finish last in 5th place. Round one winner Kevin Procter in his Ford Focus who had looked comfortable all day started in second place on the grid and took advantage of Godfreys misfortune and started to widen the gap with Steve Harris running in second with Mad Mark Watson third. However, Procters Focus started to belch smoke in what appeared to be a turbo failure which saw Watson take on the lead with Harris hard on his heels. Watson ran out the winner with Steve Harris claiming second and Icelandic new comer Jon Hrolfsson claiming his first podium finish in his Subaru Impreza.
As usual the Suzuki Swift Final gave real door to door action Round One winner Graham Rodemark started in pole with Current champion Chris Mullen and Tristan Ovenden making up the remainder of the front row. A tight start which ultimately saw Rodemark spectacularly roll his car and then drive off! Letting guest drivers Pat Doran and Terry Grant through. Honours went to Doran with Tristan Ovenden picking up second and Terry Grant in third place not bad considering he started from the back row of the grid.
The Suzuki Swift Junior final saw Kevin Hansen drive to a convincing victory with a very mature drive from Charlie Bean and current champion James Ross picking up third
In the hotly contested Super National class Stuart Emery started on pole after looking invincible all day. But Ashley Simpson and Paul Wakeling who made up the rest of the front row, weren’t going to let him have an easy win. Emery was forced to retire due to a mechanical, yet another casualty of the infamous Mallory circuit. Leaving Ashley Simpson his second win of the year in his Lotus Exige, with Paul Wakling taking second a spirited drive from Gary Simpson saw him drive his BMW E30 to third spot.
The increasingly exciting Hot Hatch class saw John Lyne starting on pole. But top honors would go to Craig Lomax claiming victory from the second row of the grid, Lyne in second and Tomasz Wielgosz going one place better then his round one result. Also a great result from Damon Fatchett in forth place.
Marc Scott recorded a phenomenal win in the RX150’s after a restart. Neither Don Macleod or Richard Moore who claimed the remaining places looked to be in the same league. In the BMW minis David Bell drove to the top spot, however at the cost of his car which burst into flames as soon as he crossed the line. Kris Hudson in second and Tom Edwardes in third. Unfortunately there were only 2 Super 1600 entries which saw Russell Simpson narrowly edge out Rallycross new comer Andy Gwynne.
